Ben Schoon is a Senior Editor at 9to5Google, working for the publication as one of its primary news writers since 2016.
In 2013, Ben helped start an independent tech publication where he learned the skills used at 9to5Google including writing, product photography, and videography. He is located in the city of Winston-Salem in North Carolina where he lives with his wife Melissa. Ben is an avid disc golf player.
He primarily covers Android products, including Google Pixel devices, Samsung Galaxy smartphones, as well as devices from OnePlus, Oppo, Motorola, and more. Beyond just covering news about these products, Ben also spends time using these products himself, speaking from experience with the articles he writes. Some of Ben’s most recent hands-on reviews include; Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel Watch 2, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Motorola Razr+, HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook, and more.
Ben is also a leading source for information about Google’s Android TV, diving deeply into important parts of the platform including its powerful Operator Tier, explaining future changes to the platform, and reviewing its products such as Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield TV, and more.
In 2019, Ben leaked one of the first in-person photos of the Pixel 4 before later revealing the Recorder and Pixel Themes apps months ahead of launch. In 2020, Ben also reported on multiple upcoming Pixel devices including Pixel 5a and the first report of Google working on a foldable Pixel smartphone. That same month, he was also the first to correctly report the $49 price point of what became the Chromecast with Google TV.
Ben Schoon is active on Twitter, @nexusben, but can also be found on Instagram and LinkedIn. For questions or tips, you can email him directly, and his portfolio is also available online.
Email: schoon@9to5mac.com | Encrypted Email: benschoon@protonmail.com
If you’ve visited an app listing on the Google Play Store through the web recently, you might have noticed that update changelogs have been missing, but thankfully it’s just a bug and they’ll be returning soon.
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A vulnerability has just been disclosed in the TikTok app for Android, as well as TikTok on the web which made it relatively easy to bypass two-factor authentication entirely.
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In line with the company’s Google Assistant-connected delivery box for packages, Yale is now launching the Yale Smart Safe.
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Android TV and Google TV make it easy to use apps and play games up on the big screen, but Google Stadia closing in January 2023 is a big loss for those who want an easy way to play console-quality games on a TV. Luckily, there are other options to fill the gap. These are the cloud gaming platforms that work on Android TV and Google TV devices.
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The past couple of years have brought the arrival of some much-needed features on Android in the launch and fast expansion of Fast Pair and Nearby Share, but despite Google’s promise over a year ago, neither has arrived on Windows PCs, the company’s own Google TV platform, or even ChromeOS.
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In one of its biggest moves for short-form videos, YouTube has just confirmed that revenue sharing for YouTube Shorts will begin on February 1.
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Here’s the good news: The Samsung Galaxy S23 series is expected to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 across all countries and models. The bad news? It might be held back by Samsung actually manufacturing the chip.
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While there’s a lot of excitement around the Galaxy S23’s debut in a few weeks, Samsung is also working on launching its better-selling Galaxy A-series devices. Following the launch of the Galaxy A14 at CES 2023, Samsung is now preparing for the Galaxy A54 launch event and release date.
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Google Stadia sadly shuts down in just over a week, and as we say our goodbyes to the platform, it’s fun to look back at the games we’ve played most. What was your most-played game on Stadia?
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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S23 series looks to be a pretty tame upgrade over the Galaxy S22 series, but it seems Samsung is ready to upgrade the base storage on its flagship phone for the first time in years.
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As devices start to arrive, Matter is going to be quick to take over the smart home. To assist in setting up devices more quickly, Samsung is currently rolling out “Matter Easy Pair” for Galaxy smartphones and tablets.
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There are plenty of useful commands to use on Google Assistant devices, with everything from setting timers to launching music. But for many lately, Google Assistant sleep timers for stopping music have been broken on devices such as the Nest Hub.
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The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook might be the next “flagship” for the platform, and at CES 2023, we had the pleasure of checking it out in person.
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Android tablets have seen a resurgence over the past couple of years, and now OnePlus is looking to launch its very first one, with progress being made behind the scenes.
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Over a decade ago, a lawsuit alleged that Google was sharing some search data with third-party companies, and now that lawsuit is resulting in a $23 million settlement. Here’s what you need to know.
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As Matter arrives to revolutionize the smart home, Samsung is releasing the first new hub for SmartThings in years. The Samsung SmartThings Station controls your smart home, and has a couple of tricks up its sleeve for Galaxy smartphone owners, too.
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The selection of Chromebooks has evolved over the years, but has always been built on the back of one core market – affordable laptops. Coming later this year, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i is the latest affordable Chromebook from the company, and it might just be one of the most exciting machines on 2023’s ChromeOS roadmap so far.
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Thanks to its killer value, the Google Pixel 7 might just be the best smartphone to come out in 2022, but an issue appearing for a growing number of users sees the camera glass shatter for no obvious reason.
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Over the past several months Google has been pushing hard for Apple to adopt the RCS standard that could greatly improve messaging between Android and iOS, and at CES 2023, Google put out huge ads for Android that further pushed that campaign.
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Android is having an impact on the next generation of cars, and now BMW has confirmed plans to bring Android Automotive OS to its vehicles in 2024.
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The January 2023 update arrived earlier this week for Google Pixel owners, but it seems the patch is carrying some problems along with it, as some users are seeing issues with Bluetooth and Android Auto.
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Following its announcement last year, Razer has just announced that the Razer Edge gaming handheld will finally see its release date later this month.
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At CES 2023 this week Google is sharing an update on how many devices are now using Google TV and Android TV, with 150 million devices in the hands of users.
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Amazon’s Kindle Scribe caught the attention of many towards the end of 2022 as an excellent note-taking device using e-ink, and now Lenovo is announcing a similar idea in Lenovo Smart Paper.
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